Jump to Content

> Home > Huntington Library > Photo Archives Collections
Collection Guide
∞ https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c85x2c31/
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
A.C. Vroman Photograph Collection: Finding Aid
photCL 86  
Online items available Online items available       Request items ↗
Collection location Contact Huntington Library::Photo Archives Collections
View entire collection guide What's This?
Search this collection
Entire Collection Guide
Online Items
Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Overview of the Collection
  • Access
  • Administrative Information
  • Biographical Note
  • Scope and Content
  • Sources Consulted
  • Related Materials
  • Arrangement
  • Indexing Terms

    • Overview of the Collection

    Title: A.C. Vroman Photograph next hit Collection
    Dates (inclusive): approximately 1892-1909
    Collection Number: photCL 86
    Creator: Vroman, A.C. (Adam Clark), 1856-1916.
    Extent: 169 previous hit photographs next hit : 131 prints and 38 glass negatives in 5 boxes
    Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Photo Archives
    1151 Oxford Road
    San Marino, California 91108
    Phone: (626) 405-2191
    Email: reference@huntington.org
    URL: http://www.huntington.org
    Abstract: previous hit Photographs next hit made by Adam Clark Vroman, ca. 1892-1909, spanning various subjects, primarily his bookstore in Pasadena, California, and scenes from his travels to Pueblo villages of the Southwest. Other topics include scenery, towns and buildings on the West and East coasts, and previous hit photographs next hit of people and architecture in Japan. Of particular significance is Vroman's handwritten journal of a trip to see the Snake Dance at Walpi, Arizona, in 1895, written sequentially on the back of 19 mounted previous hit photographs next hit .
    Language: English.
    Note:
    Finding aid last updated on March 5, 2020..

    Access

    Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

    Administrative Information

    Publication Rights

    The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

    Preferred Citation

    A.C. Vroman previous hit Photograph next hit Collection. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Provenance

    This is an artificial collection of undetermined provenance. The previous hit photographs next hit most likely came from various sources, and were received prior to 1975. The 19 previous hit photographs next hit inscribed with Vroman's journal of his trip to Walpi are mentioned in a 1975 article by former curator Gary Kurutz ("Pictorial Resources: The Henry E. Huntington Library's California and American West Collections," California Historical Quarterly, Summer 1975).
    Image (88.1): Gift of Claire Lozier and Andrew Smith, December 2019.

    Technical Details

    The prints in this collection vary in size, mount, and types of paper. A few are platinum prints, and some others are on paper that appears to have been part of an album. Some prints are printed two to a page, possibly for an album. Most of the prints have ink captions in Vroman's hand, often noting the negative number.
    The glass negatives vary in size: 5 x 7 inches, 6 ½ x 8 ½ inches, and 8 x 10 inches.

    Biographical Note

    Adam Clark Vroman was born in La Salle, Illinois, on April 15, 1856, to parents of Dutch ancestry. In 1893, after several years working on the railroads, he moved to Pasadena, California, where he hoped the climate might help his wife, Esther Griest, who had tuberculosis. Her health did not improve and she died in September 1894.
    At the end of 1894, Vroman opened a bookstore in Pasadena with stationer J.S. Glasscock at 60 East Colorado Street. The shop also sold cameras and photo supplies, a reflection of Vroman's budding interest in the art and practice of photography. In 1895, he acquired a 6 ½ x 8 ½ inch glass plate camera and made his first trip to the Indian pueblos. He made eight more trips to Arizona and New Mexico between 1897 and 1904. Three of these Southwest trips were Smithsonian-led expeditions that Vroman was invited to join based on his skills as a photographer. He accompanied anthropologist Frederick Webb Hodge's expeditions in 1897 and 1899, and the Museum-Gates expedition in 1901.
    Vroman's previous hit photographs next hit appeared in Land of Sunshine (a journal edited by Charles F. Lummis), ethnological reports, tourist brochures and other publications. It does not appear he sold his previous hit photographs next hit in his store; he primarily photographed for himself, his friends, and for ethnological and historical documentation.
    He never returned to the Southwest after 1904, and his last travels were to the East Coast, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Vroman's bookstore flourished (he had bought out his partner in 1901), and he continued showing his Indian previous hit photographs next hit and lecturing in his remaining years. Vroman died of cancer in 1916.

    Scope and Content

    previous hit Photographs next hit made by Adam Clark Vroman, ca. 1892-1909, spanning various subjects, primarily his bookstore in Pasadena, California, and scenes from his travels. The California images include scenery and travelers in the San Gabriel Mountains, Mount Wilson, Mount Lowe and the Alpine Tavern, and travelers having a picnic; details of missions; historic adobes of Monterey; Rancho Guajome Adobe in San Diego County; Yosemite and one view of Indians living in Yosemite Valley. Locations depicted in other parts of the United States are: Manitou, Colorado; Oregon, Illinois; Niagara Falls; Grant's Tomb; a bird's-eye-view of Santa Fe, New Mexico; and other miscellaneous views.
    Vroman travelled to Japan in 1903 and 1909, and eight prints in the collection show Japanese men and women in traditional dress, as well as details of architecture. They are printed two on a page, side-by-side, and were possibly made for an album (89-92).
    Vroman appears in a few previous hit photographs next hit , including: a portrait; seated poses in his Arts and Crafts style bookstore and residence; and some group camp scenes. There are several portraits of Pueblo Indian men, some identified in Vroman's captions, as well as scenes of Hopi Indians performing the Snake Dance at Walpi, Arizona. Vroman wrote a personal journal of his trip to Arizona in 1895 on the backs of 19 mounted previous hit photographs next hit made during the trip (Series II, items 102-120). Vroman's traveling companions were Horatio N. Rust, Mrs. Thaddeus (Leontine) Lowe, and Charles J. Crandall, who are shown, along with Vroman, at pueblos, and traveling with supplies and wagons. There are also views of the Grand Canyon and the Petrified Forest.
    Item titles are supplied by the cataloger.

    Sources Consulted

    Adam Clark Vroman: Platinum Prints, 1895-1904. Essays by Jennifer A. Watts, Andrew Smith. Los Angeles: Michael Dawson Gallery; Santa Fe, N.M.: Andrew Smith Gallery, 2005.
    Apostol, Jane. Vroman's of Pasadena: A Century of Books, 1894-1994. Pasadena, Ca.: A.C. Vroman, Inc., 1994.
    Webb, William and Robert A. Weinstein. Dwellers at the Source: Southwestern Indian previous hit Photographs next hit of A.C. Vroman, 1895-1904. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1973.

    Related Materials

    Related materials in the Huntington Library:

    Arrangement

    The collection is organized in 3 series:
    • Series I. Original and copy prints
    • Series II. Photo-journal of trip to Arizona
    • Series III. Glass plate negatives
    Items are arranged numerically according to numbers previously assigned by Huntington Library catalogers.

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

    Subjects

    Vroman, A.C. (Adam Clark), 1856-1916 -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Rust, Horatio N. (Horatio Nelson), 1828-1906 -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Crandall, C. J., 1855-1935 -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    A.C. Vroman, Inc. -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Acoma Indians-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Adobe houses—California-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    California Missions-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Cameras--1890-1910 -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Camping--1900-1910-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Hotels--California--1880-1910-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Hopi Indians-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Indians of North America—Southwest, New-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Isleta Indians-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Japan--Buildings, structures, etc.-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building (Washington, D.C.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Mount Lowe Railway-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Photographers--1890-1930-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Pueblo Indians-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Rickshaws--Japan--1900-1910 -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Snake dance -- Arizona -- 1890-1900-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Stores & shops -- California -- Pasadena -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Travel -- 1880-1900 -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Travelers -- West (U.S.) -- 19th century -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Vroman's Bookstore-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Women travelers -- United States -- History -- 19th century -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Zuni Indians-- previous hit Photographs next hit .

    Places

    Arizona-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    California-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Chelly, Canyon de (Ariz.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Echo Mountain Observatory (Los Angeles County, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit . (local term)
    General Grant National Memorial (New York, N.Y.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Grand Canyon (Ariz.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Japan -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Lowe, Mount (Los Angeles County, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Manitou Springs (Colo.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Monterey (Calif.)--Buildings, structures, etc. -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    New Mexico-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Niagara Falls (N.Y. and Ont.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Oraibi (Ariz.). -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Oregon (Ill.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Pasadena (Calif.)--Buildings, structures, etc. -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico-- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Rancho Guajome (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Rubio Canyon (San Gabriel Mountains, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit . (local term)
    San Felipe Pueblo (N.M.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    San Gabriel Mountains (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Sandia Pueblo (N.M.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Santa Fe (N.M.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Walpi (Ariz.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Wilson, Mount (Calif. : Mountain) -– previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Zia Pueblo (N.M.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .

    Form/Genres

    Glass negatives.
    Journals -- Accounts -- Arizona -- 19th century.
    Negatives.
    previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Platinum prints.
    Portraits.

    87 Search hits
    Clear search hits
    [Online Content] Collection Contents
    [Online Content] Original and copy prints [1 hit]
    [Online Content] Photo-journal of trip to Arizona [15 hits]
    Glass negatives [3 hits]
    Home | Contributing Institutions | Collection Guides | Browse Map | About OAC | FAQs | Contact Us | Privacy Statement | Terms of Use | Accessibility
    The Online Archive of California is a service of the UC Libraries, powered by the California Digital Library.